1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the handling of heavy bottles used with liquid dispensing apparatus. More particularly, it concerns the use of a bottle valve assembly for preventing spillage during the inversion of a bottle upon a liquid dispensing apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of bottled water in households and businesses is widely prevalent. Typically, the water is delivered in large five to six gallon bottles having a spout with an outlet covered with a disposable protective cap. The cap is removed and the bottle is hoisted and inverted onto the dispensing apparatus. During hoisting and inverting, water will spill-out of the spout and create an untidy and unsafe condition.
Because of the above problem, various check valve devices have been developed to prevent spillage. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,246 describes a float valve that falls by gravity over a spout outlet during bottle inversion. It then floats away when the bottle is fully inverted. A significant disadvantage of this device is that a substantial amount of water will still spill-out. This occurs before sufficient inversion has taken place to move the float valve over the spout outlet.
Similar systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 939,594; 1,538,483 and 4,717,051. In these systems, plug or disc stoppers drop by gravity over bottle outlets to inhibit spillage during inversion. When the bottle is lowered into the dispensing apparatus, an elongated rod or stem dislodges the stopper by abutment with the inner container of the dispenser. Again, however, the above systems do not prevent water spillage during the time of initial inversion and before gravity moves the stopper into position.